"We're depending on God; he's everything we need. What's more, our hearts brim with joy since we've taken for our own his holy name. Love us, God, with all you've got— that's what we're depending on." -Psalm 33:20 (The Message)

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Breath of Fresh Air--An Adoption Update!

"Who will tell whether one
happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright
morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and
effort which life implies."

~ Erich Fromm

A big heave. A refreshment like no other. A breath of FRESH AIR. It's remarkable how that one, deep, cleansing breath can somehow erase all of the stifled breaths before it. That is what yesterday felt like to my soul. It got a big ole' breath of fresh air...and boy did it feel good!

There is no doubt this adoption process creates moments, days, weeks, months of what feel like suffering and effort as the above quote implies. However, those are also graced with moments of fresh breath along the journey and for those moments, all of us in these adoptions press on. To say I have been feeling a bit restless in our adoption would be true. In some regards I had every right to be--a year into the process and only one visit with our beautiful Nora some 8 months ago. Multiple unanswered questions and timelines that are long and never guaranteed. In other regards I had no right to be--there are MANY in this process who have been at this far longer than I and my one year wait is just a drop in their bucket. However, it is what it is and I have to be true to what I feel. I had been feeling restless to see God move in what can only be labeled as His miraculous work and nothing less.

The moment where His miraculous work becomes our breath of fresh, life-giving air. That is what I was desperate for.

And that is just what happened when I got this email from our orphanage director yesterday...

Angie

Good news. the dossier is out of
Ibesr, I am waiting for the Moniteur which is a gov news paper saying
that the president has signed the dispensation..

I will try to make you come with Kiesrsten at the end of August I said I will try...

Blessings

Rachel

Out of IBESR. A signed dispensation from the President. The moment we have been waiting for, praying for, hoping for. A breath of fresh and infusing air to a suffocating soul.

For those of you following the process and time lines of our adoption, you will know this is nothing short of a miracle! We found out we entered IBESR on February 13, 2011. 5 months ago. 5 months. 5 long but incredibly short months when we were told to be prepared for a potential year+ wait just stuck on the President's desk. We were (and still are) praying for God to be moving us along this journey miraculously fast. We are hoping all others can see His ability and power to work on behalf of these orphans despite what time frame the governments say it will take. He IS at work, friends. He IS the One we give praise and glory and honor to along this journey.

So, where does this breath of fresh air leave us? Where are we at in the process now? We will hopefully be making a trip back to Haiti in a month or two to go before the Dean and to apply for our Immigration. Of course, beyond those two very important meetings, we will also spend countless moments loving on Nora. Our older daughter, Lily, will also hopefully be joining us on that trip so she can meet her baby sister for the first time. She is beside herself with giddiness at this prospect. After this trip we will then move on in the process where our paperwork goes to the next court system in Haiti. I have a very detailed explanation of each part of this adoption here, however, if you just want the brief summary of the next steps and their time frames, here it is...

Parquet Court and Attestation: 1-6 months

Ministry of Interior (MOI): 3-6 months

Passport and Visa: 1-4 weeks

IBESR Final letter: 2 days

Bring Nora Home!!!!

So, if you add up all the long-ends of those time frames we still have another 1+ year to this adoption, but if you add up all the short-ends of those, you can see we "could" have her home in a matter of 5-6 months. Current time frames in other Haitian adoptions generally give us hope that it will not be another whole year, but somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. With all of that, we are giving ourselves the realistic outlook of Nora being in our home by the end of Spring 2013. While we are giving ourselves that realistic outlook, we are also giving God all our trust, hope, and prayers for the process to continue on in miraculous time. We believe He can do the "impossible" things our earthly minds just can not comprehend. We are already seeing Him do it. We believe He is the GOOD God who desires ABUNDANT LIFE for each and every orphan, each and every parent, each and every child He has created. That includes Nora, that includes me, that includes you whether you find yourself in an adoption process or just trying to figure out what it is life has thrown at you today. I encourage you, friends, to take a stance today to believe God to be who He says He is.

A breath of fresh air. My God is the only One who gives me the air I breathe and it is incredibly fresh.

About Me

I'm just an ordinary, every-day woman living with an extraordinary, living and active God in my heart. His love, joy, peace, and energy fill me to the brim. My relationships and life are an overflow of those miraculous blessings.